Tuesday July 7, 2015
We cannot believe we are heading back to Baltimore, it went so quick! Last night we got an ice cream surprise and today we will finish up the boat learning with our presentations. Before we dock we'll do one last cleaning on the boat then we're back on land.
Monday July 6, 2015
We can't believe today is our last full day on the boat. It just flew by! Today we learned a lot about osprey and their hunting and mating habits. We learned and reviewed all the lines on the ship and had another lesson on climate change and plasticity. The rest of the time we have been working hard to finish our final projects. Then we got a break for skipjack races which we had a coiling contest, locating lines contest followed by some water fun to cool off on this hot day.
Sunday July 5, 2015
We left Soloman's island and are sailing to our next destination: Tilman Island. It's such a beautiful day to sail! So far we've conducted more water quality tests adding turbidity testing as well. We did more navigation and steering today, but the highlight (so far) has been the advanced buoyancy lesson. We got to create little boats to test buoyancy. We docked at Phillips Wharf Environemental Center where we got to learn about different turtles such as the diamondback terrapin, painted turtle, snapping turtle and other species like the horseshoe crab!
Saturday July 4, 2015
Happy Fourth of July! Our day started off bright and early packing up to leave from Horn Point to Soloman's Island. It was a very busy and education packed day. We started our lessons by studying the blue crab we caught yesterday; learning about their behaviors when interacting with another crab, then released it. We learned about two more of the Chesapeake Bay habitats; open water and intertidal zones. Each watch had been working on our flag. We also tested water quality, this time measuring phosphorus with the salinity, pH and oxygen. After we arrived at Soloman's Island we got to go to the Calvert Marine Museum! At the museum we got to see and learn about different fish, otters, historic colonies and tons more! Later that night we had pizza on the boat and watched fireworks!
Friday July 3, 2015
Today we got to stay at Horn Point and take a day trip on the Choptank river. Onboard, we did some more water quality testing, where we measured salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and nitrate. A couple days ago we learned about the five habitats in the Chesapeake Bay, so today we learned more about the first one; shallow water. Then we got to learn about different knots and how to do them. After lunch we went dredging for oysters, and were lucky to catch oysters, fish and blue crabs! However the best part was when we anchored and got to go swimming!! After the refreshing swim we returned to camp and got to hangout and make s'mores.
Thursday July 2, 2015
Today was really unique. We got to tour and experience the Horn Point Laboratory, a facility with the University of Maryland which focuses on restoration with the Chesapeake Bay. We got to take a tour and learn all about the Oyster Hatchery! We learned about aquaculture and got to experience the oyster restoration process, which consists of many steps in order to develop the larvae and introduce them into the setting tank where the spat feed on algae. Once they're ready to be deployed the oysters are transported to restoration sites and monitored. We got to observe and hold a female terrapin and a baby sturgeon! Fun fact about sturgeons: they grow up to 14 feet long! We got to see some that were about 4 feet long! After our lunch break we cleaned oysters, removing all the barnacles off them. We ended the day with showers and games.
Wednesday July 1, 2015
It's only 9:30 am and we've already done a lot! Last night we camped at Sandy Point State Park and got to swim in the bay! It was a nice campsite although we had a storm, but we are all great!! We just got some of our stuff wet, but no worries we are drying them on the ship right now. So far we've packed up everything from the campsite and have set sail! We've gotten to play some games and started our lessons for the day. It's a beautiful day to sail! It's day 3 and there is still so much to learn! We're about to start working on our assignments.
Below is some pictures of our campsite from last night and us on the Sigsbee:
Tuesday June 30, 2015
Wow, today has been a busy day! Yesterday was only our first day on the ship so we learned a lot of new terms and where everything is. Since take off, we watched a demonstration about brackish water and we were divided into two watches: Port and Starboard. Then we divided into different lessons; Port watch went with one of the crew to learn about the safety procedures, a tour of the ship and got to learn about navigation! The Starboard watch learned about water quality testing in which we tested salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen using different measuring instruments. Next we learned about plankton (zooplankton and phytoplankton) and participated in an oyster dissection where we learned about the different parts of the oyster such as the mantle, stomach and muscles as well as some oyster history. After each group switched, the captain taught us about the weather and distinguishing different types of clouds, and started using our course readers. Later we had lunch and enjoyed a nice swim in the bay!
Here's some of our views and the beach at Sandy Point State Park:
Monday June 29, 2015
